Southern Aegean region suspends cooperation with Alpha Bank

The Region of the Southern Aegean is suspending any cooperation agreements it has with Alpha Bank, it said in an announcement on Thursday.

The region reached this decision after the bank’s board decided to suspend the operation of its branches on the islands of Tilos, Lipsoi and Kassos from September 14. The decision leaves the remote islands without a bank.

According to the region’s announcement, “Alpha Bank’s sudden decision intensifies the feeling of being treated unfairly among residents of these remote Aegean islands, whom it deprives of basic banking services and forces them to long and expensive travel from island to island.”

The bank’s decision, it added, shows a complete ignorance of the unique issues and needs of the vulnerable and nationaly sensitive nature of the Aegean island, “which it addresses with bottom-line criteria.” The bank’s move is a provocation to sense of service banks owe to Greek society, especially when they owe their existence to the sacrifices of the Greek people, the region said.

The Athens-Macedonian News Agency (AMNA) (Greek: Αθηναϊκό-Μακεδονικό Πρακτορείο Ειδήσεων, AΜΠΕ) is a Greece-based news service. It is a public entity anonymous company. It was founded in 2008 as the Athens News Agency - Macedonian Press Agency S.A. (ANA-MPA SA), under a presidential decree which merged the Athens News Agency (ANA SA) and the Macedonian Press Agency (MPA SA).